System level simulation is a common part of the design, evaluation and optimization of wireless networks, including Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) and any other wireless technology or protocol. During the design phase of the air interface, the system capacity and network coverage is often evaluated through detailed system level simulation. During the simulation the effect of different capacity enhancement techniques and interference management and reduction techniques (e.g., Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), beamforming, Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA), power control, fractional frequency reuse, interference coordination and cancellation) may be evaluated.
Typically, the simulation involves a network divided into clusters containing nineteen hexagonal cells laid out in a hexagonal pattern. The analysis focuses on individual cells where the cell currently being simulated is at the center of a cluster of nineteen cells and is often referred to as the target cell. The analysis involves simulating two rings of cells around the target cell to assess the interference generated in those cells. For a wireless link, including both the uplink and downlink, the Signal to Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) of a transmission from transmitter i to receiver j is given as:
      SINR          i      ,      j        =            P              i        ,              ·                                                  H                          i              ,              j                                                2            /              [                                            ∑                              k                ≠                i                                      ⁢                          (                                                P                  k                                ·                                                                                                H                                              k                        ,                        j                                                                                                  2                                            )                                +                      N            0                          ]            